The SNP have already made significant cuts in the programme, substantially cutting the thresholds for eligibility. Until this session, young people who came from a home with an income of up to £33,157 were eligible; in the forthcoming academic session, the threshold is £20,351 for those with only one child at home. This is, in part, due to the abolition of a sliding eligibility scale, where young people were entitled to either £10, £20 or £30 per week depending on their circumstances, whereas a blanket £30 for those on the lowest incomes now applies, whilst those who would have been eligible for £10 or £20 a week support will receive nothing.
The eligibility ceiling to receive £30 a week has been lowered from £22,403 to £20,351.
The SNP have also abolished bonus payments for exemplary attendance and outstanding academic achievement.
If these cuts weren’t dramatic enough, the SNP have refused to guarantee that payments will be available for any young people after December 2010. This uncertainty is extremely unsettling for young people, who are expected to start a course with funding for only half a year in place.
A review of the scheme will be carried out by the SNP government in December, and only then will the future funding, or not, of these vulnerable young people be clear.
EMAs were introduced across Scotland from August 2004 for 16 year olds. In 2005-06 eligibility was extended to include all 17 year olds and further extended in 2006-07 to include 18 year olds. Full rollout was completed in academic year 2007-08 with the inclusion of eligible 19 year olds.
The number of students receiving EMA payments in Scotland in 2008-09 was 39,000, an increase of 5 per cent since the previous academic year.
Research from the CfBT Education Trust, a leading education charity, shows that EMAs have increased participation and achievement among 16 and 17 year olds, and contributed to improved motivation and performance. Meanwhile, a UK-wide student satisfaction survey found that 59 per cent of students receiving EMAs said that they would be unable to study without the funding.
At a time when college bursaries are under severe pressure and part-time jobs are hard to find, the threat to pull the funding rug out from under young people who need this support to achieve their aspirations is indefensible.
As Claire Baker, Scottish Labour’s further and higher education spokeswoman, said: “The SNP are risking the educational attainment of the young people that we need to help the most. EMAs are there to help keep young people from the most impoverished families in Scotland in education and get the chances they need to break the cycle of poverty. A generation of young people in Scotland want opportunities and all the SNP seem to be creating are obstacles and excuses.”
Scottish Labour must maintain pressure on the SNP to ensure that in December the current uncertainty and worry for Scottish young people is not translated into dismay and hopelessness.